With a heavy heart, I've decided to sign out. My mom is in the hospital and we're going through a lot of financial strain. All of my resources need to be centered toward my family at this point. And with finishing up my senior year and working, I can't devote the time necessary to this game. I will miss all of you and polsimming - it has been an integral part of my childhood and I'm grateful to all who've had to deal with me over these last few years and those who've helped make me better and teaching me a lot about politics.

Williams 2020 Campaign Event: (40/40)
Catherine Williams stumped in North Las Vegas, Reno, and Henderson, Nevada in high school gymnasiums - pitching her message to potential voters.
Democratic presidential candidate Catherine Williams (D-CA)
Thank you, (city)! Oh, God bless all of you. I'm Catherine Williams and I'm running for president! I'm running for all of you here and for the rest of America - so that together, we may restore America!
I grew up in a loving, family-values oriented home of a small business owner and a homemaker. When I saw the turmoil in this country, I decided to serve. And I’ve been serving the American people ever since. I am the most experienced candidate in this race - and if we’re ever going to reform our government, we need somebody that understands how to get things done. As president, I will be as committed as ever in working with people I don’t agree with to get things done for all the American people in this country.
I am with the majority of folks in the Democratic party who believe that after four years of Trump, we don’t need our another version of craziness nominated for the White House. Instead, we need someone who is thoughtful, practical, sensible - because that will afford us the best opportunity to win, get things done for the American people, get rid of the division and return decency to the Oval Office!
I am driven not by any personal satisfaction or glory. I am drawn instead from a lifetime of service to something higher and greater. I am running for president to restore the American dream for the benevolent people of our country who ought to be given the opportunity to climb in America - through education, work, and drive, and to be seen as an equal in the halls of justice. We need to build up real hope for people who are struggling and need real change through education, opportunity, equality, and community. And to do this, we must address some of the hard truths in our country.
We need a president willing to understand the dynamics of what generations of systemic racism and inequality has led to the inheritance of poverty that we’ve seen today. And it’s really about the barriers that Black men face in this country. I have not sugar coated anything about this challenge: Black men are oppressed in the United States of America! The legacy of American racism - the enslavement, the disenfranchisement and the exclusion of black Americans - is visible in the barriers Black families in this country must go up against. It is just simply wrong that we have allowed a century-long delay in in economic improvements for Black Americans. It is just simply wrong that Black Americans must go through the same levels of discrimination against African Americans since 1989 when it comes to hiring. It is just simply wrong that Black Americans are twice more likely to be arrested and charged with a crime than White people. It is just simply wrong that Black Americans are faced with less school readiness and quality of education in their communities than their White counterparts. And it is just simply wrong that Black Americans must put up with wide and stubborn inequalities in health care and housing. We are going to address these challenges together!
My plan is to break down barriers and usher in opportunity in communities that have long been left behind and hollowed out. We’re going to start ushering in opportunity by reforming our education system. We’ll begin by renewing our commitment to early childhood education and extending its benefits to every child in this country - through universal pre-kindergarten and child care services that invest in our children’s minds and hearts. Then we’re going dive into reforming our public education system, making sure that it actually prepares every young American with the abilities to go into the world, hitting the ground running. We’ll do this by investing in better science, better technology, better engineering and better math education and teaching our young men and women trades and codes, but also teach budgeting and investment. Every young man and woman ought to know what it means to manage money, to build credit, and to take part in the opportunities of investment that we have in our society. As president, I will make sure that every American receives $21,600 once they turn 18 years of age as a part of America’s commitment to laying opportunity at the gates of every young adult to be given the chance to begin building a life on their own and getting a post-secondary education or getting a head start on a working class career, starting a business, investing, or homeownership. Let’s give young people the chance to build up and build out our communities - renewing the American dream for all and shaping our nation for the better.
The efforts to restore America must begin at the door of people’s economic struggles. Donald Trump promises us he’d make our country great by creating good paying jobs. All we’ve been left with instead are low wages and divisiveness. I will turn this country around - renewing hope with real change, restoring the American dream for all people.
We need to invest abundantly in economic opportunities for the communities that are persistently left out and left behind. I will do that as president by first renewing America’s commitment to our families. Every family in America will receive a ‘working wage break’ that eliminates all taxes on the first $15,000 of wage income: no income tax, employee Social Security tax, and employee Medicare tax - giving an immediate raise to Black working men and women and families. Furthermore, we’re going to provide tax relief to help middle class families keep up with the rising costs of child care, education, and health care by reforming the code to ensure the wealthiest pay their fair share by closing tax loopholes and expenditures that benefit the wealthiest taxpayers. Then we’re going to focus on creating more good paying jobs in our communities. We’ll have to train workers for the economy of tomorrow and unlock access to capital in our communities. I’m proposing to finance Apprenticeship Hubs that will proactively engage local employers and unions across a range of industries, identify workforce needs, and support employers as they design and implement new programs that train workers and get them into jobs. Then we’re going to create a new public fund - what I like to call the ‘Main Street Bank’ - that will back small and medium business loans and investments so that risk capital is available to millions more entrepreneurs. This will create more jobs in places left-out and left-behind through a quadrupling of business loans guaranteed by the federal government and run a $5 billion campaign to promote, capitalize, and support new funds that makes equity investments in businesses located in underinvested markets. We’re going to further create jobs and jumpstart local economies that have been left out of economic growth by investing in infrastructure, in clean energy, and scientific and medical research to create jobs and strengthen our economy through tax reform that closes corporate tax loopholes that provides tax relief for working families and small businesses.
The change we need to ensure families are strong and prosperous includes addressing the rising cost of healthcare. My opponent wants to kill Obamacare - and practically kill private industry with it - through a half-backed healthcare proposal that he has no real plan to pay for. First of all, we cannot afford to spend the kind of political capital it would take after the long and tough process of reforming the healthcare system before. We don’t need more divisiveness in this country and this would just pile on. On top of that, if Senator Arroyo has no real plan to pay for it and control our national debt, then what he’s really doing is playing around with your healthcare. We don’t need that. I want a real plan that is practical and does what is needed to deliver high-quality and affordable health care to all people. I will do this by building on Obamacare. If your healthcare bills cost more than 10% of your monthly income, we’re going to give you up to $5,000 in tax credits to offset those out-of-pocket costs. We’re going to extend Medicare to those over the age of 50 years old through a public option that will give millions more hardworking people the affordable healthcare they need. We’re also going to expand funding for community health centers to increase access to quality healthcare. Now, I’m currently the only candidate in this race with a comprehensive plan to cut drug prices. I’m going to down drug costs by allowing Medicare to negotiate for lower prices with drug and biologic manufacturers; demanding higher rebates; and allowing Americans to import lower-cost drugs from foreign countries with approved safety standards. Ultimately, we need to revamp Obamacare to cut consumer costs, rein in drug prices, and ensure more uninsured people get covered - and I will do that with your support as president!
Now there's some challenges that are universally known. We all know and acknowledge that we need to reform our immigration system. Senator Arroyo has a plan - ‘comprehensive immigration reform’, and that's it. The travesty of Donald Trump’s cruel border separation policy shows that we need real leadership more than ever - and half baked policies shown as real reform is not real leadership! I have proposed to go further in my reforms that will create a pathway to citizenship, keep families together, and enable millions of workers to come out of the shadows, including ending family detention by closing private immigration centers, providing deportation relief for DREAMers and parents of Americans and lawful residents and promoting naturalization by expanding fee waivers so more people can get a break on costs; increasing access to robust language programs to help people boost their English proficiency; and enhancing outreach and education so more people are informed about their options and engaged in the process. That's a real plan and we're going to get it done!
Now if you look at my opponents plans to uplift marginalized communities, they certainly are a few dollars short - and worst of all, unrealistic. Senator Arroyo is proposing to rollback Obamacare, try to implement a new system that is unaffordable and will lead to new challenges and lower quality healthcare. Senator Arroyo doesn’t have the experience to lead - and I question his ambition as well. It took me thirty years of service to my state for me, gaining the experience and knowledge affording me the opportunity to run for president today; Senator Arroyo has just barely even served out a full two years in the United States Senate. You have to ask yourself: is he in it for him - for the power - or is he in it for you? While I have had no qualms standing up and speaking truths about white privilege and the injustice that Black communities face in this country, Martin Arroyo has kept silent. I don’t know how committed he is at all to Black communities and seeing communities left out and left behind rise. We cannot afford to have a president that doesn’t understand what barriers stand in the way of success and how to break down those barriers. You never have to worry about that if you give me the chance to be your president! I will stand up for you, I will fight for you - day in and day out - to combat the Republicans attempts to roll back opportunities and rights!
So with conviction, humility, and duty, I ask not only for your votes today, but to put skin in the game and join a movement of mobility. We can and we will restore America - restore opportunity, equality, and decency - if we are so willing to step up to the plate and work our heart and souls out this election season. Get out there and vote for a vision that reflects your hopes, dreams, and desires. Thank you all and god bless you!"

Williams 2020: Fundraiser #8 (25/40)Catherine Williams (D), U.S. Senator, California
Target: Wealthy environmentalists, wealthy Democratic mega donors and Liberal activists Location: San Francisco
Democratic presidential candidate Catherine Williams (D-CA)
“Thank you all for being here. Hello! Thank you! Well, this is an amazing moment and opportunity to lay before you my vision for expanding our reach in combating climate change and ensuring that we protect the world we believe in.
The reason I am running for president is that I recognize that this isn’t a political issue. I think we all know what a drastic conundrum we find ourselves in. And that’s ultimately why we need to take it out of the political context. The Republicans, they don’t want to do that. They want to turn this into some sort of a cultural battle that pits the so-called elite against the working man or woman or family in rural America.
Instead, we need a president and an administration that recognizes the need for all of us to be involved because ultimately we’ll all be beneficial. From the rural worker of faith to the urban member of society, there’s a place for everyone in a Green Economy. That is why, today, I am announcing plans to make the United States of America the world’s clean energy superpower. With your help, we can transform U.S. energy and combat the harms of climate change. No more are the forces of Big Oil going to dictate my White House! Instead, I have a plan to make sure that we generate enough renewable energy to power every home in America within a decade - with a promise to make sure there are more than one million solar panels installed across the country by the time I get out of office. Together, we can build the kind of energy infrastructure we need to not only make that happen but supplant our efforts greatly in the combating of climate change.
First of all, a major challenge of ours is that our policies and infrastructure have not kept pace with recent changes to the American energy system. We’ve experienced and endured toxic pipeline spills - as we’ve seen recently seen in the news - and deadly rail explosions as the amount of oil produced and transported across the country have expanded. We must - must! - make sure that any new energy distribution networks are built to serve parts of the country still dependent on more polluting propane and fuel oil for heating and cooking. We need to upgrade our electrical grid to harness new technology that reduces energy costs and increases consumer choice and to address the growing threat of cyber attack. And we must invest in the new infrastructure that will make the transition to a clean energy economy possible, keep energy affordable and reliable, meet both baseload and peak demand, protect the health of our families and our climate, and drive job creation and innovation.
But aside from that, we need to set bold national goals and go forth in working to reach them. One of the first ways we’re going to do that is by defending, extending, and implementing more and existing pollution and efficiency standards. I will recommit ourselves to the Clean Power Plan and strongly enforce such standards for cars, trucks, and appliances that are already helping clean our air, save families money and fight climate change. Then we’re going to propose investments in clean energy infrastructure, innovation, manufacturing and workforce development to make the U.S. economy more competitive and create good-paying jobs and careers. I will do this by establishing a National Infrastructure Bank to leverage public and private capital to invest in critically important infrastructure projects, including energy infrastructure projects. I will make challenge grants a part of these investments by awarding competitive grants to states cities and rural communities that take the lead in reducing carbon pollution by investing in renewable energy, nuclear power, and carbon capture and sequestration, and reducing energy costs by investing in efficiency in both new and existing buildings. We’re going to get government out of the way of progress, by making the infrastructure review and permitting process more efficient and effective, reforming leasing and expand clean energy production on public lands and waters tenfold within a decade.
We’ve got to ensure safe and responsible energy production as we transition to a clean energy economy, ensuring that the fossil fuel production taking place today is safe and responsible. Ultimately, we’re going to have to use a combination of wind, solar, hydro, geothermal, and other forms of renewable electricity to add more power generation capacity to the grid than during any decade in American history. The government has to be more than just not being a barrier, the government must be a partner. I will make sure we’re focusing on solar access - overcoming barriers that prevent low-income and other households from using solar energy to reduce their monthly energy bills; extending federal clean energy incentives and make them more cost effective both for taxpayers and clean energy producers; and investing in clean energy R&D, including in storage technology, designed materials, advanced nuclear, and carbon capture and sequestration. I will also commit to cutting the billions of wasteful tax subsidies oil and gas companies have enjoyed for too long and invest it into clean energy. We’ve got to help expand consumer choice by offering financing tools for grid investments that support the integration of distributed energy resources and for gas pipeline investments that enable households and businesses to switch away from heating oil and other petroleum products. I will help cities, states, and rural communities repair and replace thousands of miles of pipelines by leveraging big data, predictive analytics and innovative testing procedures to more quickly and effectively find and fix pipeline leaks through a public-private partnership between federal regulators, pipeline companies, local utility commissions, and leading technology providers and research institutions.
We’ve got to do the work of bringing everyone on board. We failed tragically at that in the last election. I want to make sure coal communities are not being left behind. They are both a part of the process and should reap the benefits. We’ve got to commit to ensuring health and retirement security for people in coal communities by first fighting attempts by former coal companies to use bankruptcy proceedings to shirk the healthcare and pension commitments they’ve made to their retirees, many of whom suffer from black lung disease and other job-related illnesses. But then we’ve got to make sure there’s a partnership in building the infrastructure of the 21st century. Through our infrastructure investment efforts, we can include a focus on economic diversification and revitalization in coal communities, building new roads, bridges, water systems, airports, and transmission lines. To receive the broad support we need to build the kind of clean energy economy we want, we will have to unlock new drivers of economic and employment growth in these communities that connect workers to new jobs and companies to new markets. There’s so much more we can do on that front that I will be continually releasing but I believe it is significant that you know I am committed to what needs to a part of the process.
I’ve said so much already but I have so much I want to delve into even more. The bottom line is: what you should take away from this tonight is that I am on your side, and I have plans to make sure we do the bold things that must be done to save Planet Earth. But I need your support and I need your backing and if we work together, we can do great things.
God bless you all and goodnight.”

Williams 2020 Campaign Event: (31/40)
Catherine Williams stumped in North Charleston, Columbia, Rock Hill, and Spartanburg South Carolina in high school gymnasiums - pitching her message to potential voters.
Democratic presidential candidate Catherine Williams (D-CA)
"Thank you, (city)! Oh, God bless all of you. I'm Catherine Williams and I'm running for president! I'm running for all of you here and for the rest of America - so that together, we may restore America!
I grew up in a loving, family-values oriented home of a small business owner and a homemaker. When I saw the turmoil in this country, I decided to serve. And I’ve been serving the American people ever since. I am the most experienced candidate in this race - and if we’re ever going to reform our government, we need somebody that understands how to get things done. As president, I will be as committed as ever in working with people I don’t agree with to get things done for all the American people in this country.
I am with the majority of folks in the Democratic party who believe that after four years of Trump, we don’t need our another version of craziness nominated for the White House. Instead, we need someone who is thoughtful, practical, sensible - because that will afford us the best opportunity to win, get things done for the American people, get rid of the division and return decency to the Oval Office!
I am driven not by any personal satisfaction or glory. I am drawn instead from a lifetime of service to something higher and greater. I am running for president to restore the American dream for the benevolent people of our country who ought to be given the opportunity to climb in America - through education, work, and drive, and to be seen as an equal in the halls of justice. We need to build up real hope for people who are struggling and need real change through education, opportunity, equality, and community. And to do this, we must address some of the hard truths in our country.
We need a president willing to understand the dynamics of what generations of systemic racism and inequality has led to the inheritance of poverty that we’ve seen today. And it’s really about the barriers that Black men face in this country. I have not sugar coated anything about this challenge: Black men are oppressed in the United States of America! The legacy of American racism - the enslavement, the disenfranchisement and the exclusion of black Americans - is visible in the barriers Black families in this country must go up against. It is just simply wrong that we have allowed a century-long delay in in economic improvements for Black Americans. It is just simply wrong that Black Americans must go through the same levels of discrimination against African Americans since 1989 when it comes to hiring. It is just simply wrong that Black Americans are twice more likely to be arrested and charged with a crime than White people. It is just simply wrong that Black Americans are faced with less school readiness and quality of education in their communities than their White counterparts. And it is just simply wrong that Black Americans must put up with wide and stubborn inequalities in health care and housing. We are going to address these challenges together!
My plan is to break down barriers and usher in opportunity in communities that have long been left behind and hollowed out. We’re going to start ushering in opportunity by reforming our education system. We’ll begin by renewing our commitment to early childhood education and extending its benefits to every child in this country - through universal pre-kindergarten and child care services that invest in our children’s minds and hearts. Then we’re going dive into reforming our public education system, making sure that it actually prepares every young American with the abilities to go into the world, hitting the ground running. We’ll do this by investing in better science, better technology, better engineering, and better math education and teaching our young men and women trades and codes, but also teach budgeting and investment. Every young man and woman ought to know what it means to manage money, to build credit, and to take part in the opportunities of investment that we have in our society. As president, I will make sure that every American receives $21,600 once they turn 18 years of age as a part of America’s commitment to laying opportunity at the gates of every young adult to be given the chance to begin building a life on their own and getting a post-secondary education or getting a head start on a working-class career, starting a business, investing, or homeownership. Let’s give young people the chance to build up and build out our communities - renewing the American dream for all and shaping our nation for the better.
We need to invest abundantly in economic opportunities for the communities that are persistently left out and left behind. I will do that as president by first renewing America’s commitment to our families. Every family in America will receive a ‘working wage break’ that eliminates all taxes on the first $15,000 of wage income: no income tax, employee Social Security tax, and employee Medicare tax - giving an immediate raise to Black working men and women and families. Furthermore, we’re going to provide tax relief to help middle-class families keep up with the rising costs of child care, education, and health care by reforming the code to ensure the wealthiest pay their fair share by closing tax loopholes and expenditures that benefit the wealthiest taxpayers. Then we’re going to focus on creating more good paying jobs in our communities. We’ll have to train workers for the economy of tomorrow and unlock access to capital in our communities. I’m proposing to finance Apprenticeship Hubs that will proactively engage local employers and unions across a range of industries, identify workforce needs, and support employers as they design and implement new programs that train workers and get them into jobs. Then we’re going to create a new public fund - what I like to call the ‘Main Street Bank’ - that will back small and medium business loans and investments so that risk capital is available to millions of more entrepreneurs. This will create more jobs in places left-out and left-behind through a quadrupling of business loans guaranteed by the federal government and run a $5 billion campaign to promote, capitalize, and support new funds that make equity investments in businesses located in underinvested markets. We’re going to further create jobs and jumpstart local economies that have been left out of economic growth by investing in infrastructure, in clean energy, and scientific and medical research to create jobs and strengthen our economy through tax reform that closes corporate tax loopholes that provide tax relief for working families and small businesses.
But then we’ve got to start breaking down the barriers that stand in the way of Black families from succeeding. Aside from addressing the educational and economic inequalities that Black people face, as president, I will address the systemic problem of mass incarceration that has worked to further oppress Black men in America. I will reform our criminal justice system, including mandatory minimum sentences for low-level nonviolent offenses, increasing support for mental health and drug treatment, pursuing alternative punishments for low-level offenders, and ending private prisons. Then we’re going to make sure that the long and hard march to protect the voting rights of Black Americans will not be in vain any longer. I will expand access to the ballot box for all Americans and defend against the systematic, deliberate efforts to stop millions of citizens from participating in our democracy by repairing the Voting Rights Act, restoring the full protections American voters need and deserve, setting a new standard for early voting across our country of at least 20 days of early in-person voting, including opportunities for evening and weekend voting, and implementing universal, automatic voter registration.
We’ve got to understand that Black women face many challenges and barriers to succeed in our society. And we also need to recognize and address the fact that Black women, in particular, have had their votes taken for granted. You’ve done the work that needs to be done in pushing our party and our leaders to look at the challenges plaguing the Black community. Well, today I answer back with a renewed commitment to you and your families. I know that when women succeed, America succeeds. Which is why I will combat the stubborn inequities of the pay gap - that disproportionately impacts Black women. As president, I will give women the legal tools to fight discrimination in the workplace; fight for paid family leave and quality, affordable childcare; increase wages that will lift millions of women out of poverty; protect women’s reproductive rights and healthcare, and continue to combat violence against women.
Now if you look at my opponents plans to uplift marginalized communities, they certainly are a few dollars short - and worst of all, unrealistic. Senator Arroyo is proposing to roll back Obamacare, try to implement a new system that is unaffordable and will lead to new challenges and lower quality healthcare. Senator Arroyo doesn’t have the experience to lead - and I question his ambition as well. It took me thirty years of service to my state for me, gaining the experience and knowledge affording me the opportunity to run for president today; Senator Arroyo has just barely even served out a full two years in the United States Senate. You have to ask yourself: is he in it for him - for the power - or is he in it for you? While I have had no qualms standing up and speaking truths about white privilege and the injustice that Black communities face in this country, Martin Arroyo has kept silent. I don’t know how committed he is at all to Black communities and seeing communities left out and left behind rise. We cannot afford to have a president that doesn’t understand what barriers stand in the way of success and how to break down those barriers. You never have to worry about that if you give me the chance to be your president! I will stand up for you, I will fight for you - day in and day out - to combat the Republicans attempts to roll back opportunities and rights!
So with conviction, humility, and duty, I ask not only for your votes today, but to put skin in the game and join a movement of mobility. We can and we will restore America - restore opportunity, equality, and decency - if we are so willing to step up to the plate and work our heart and souls out this election season. Get out there and vote for a vision that reflects your hopes, dreams, and desires. Thank you all and God bless you!"

Williams 2020: Fundraiser #7 (17/40) Catherine Williams (D), U.S. Senator, California
Target: Tech giant executives, Wealthy Silicon Valley donors, Democratic mega-donors
Location: San Francisco
Democratic presidential candidate Catherine Williams
“Hello, everyone! Thank you all so much for being here! You know, I look around and it appears to me as if our leaders have forgotten your importance in this country. Silicon Valley is important, folks, and it is time we spread your abilities across America to serve all of the people of this country. And I have a vision to do just that.
Today, I want to begin the unveiling of my comprehensive tech agenda - the first of its kind in the Democratic or Republican race for president. I want to focus, specifically, on the issue of regulatory reform. I promise to create a government that is innovative and supportive of the kinds of reforms needed to ensure the industrious technological atmosphere can dominate. But first let me tell you how important I think this is. I believe we have the ability to use technology to reach the deepest depths of our country - the left out and left behind, the kinds of communities still wrought with bigotry and ignorance, poverty and scorn. With technological bolstering in this country, we can cultivate whole generations of new, 21st century workforces that are continually revolving around innovation and creating the kind of economic growth that we need to stay competitive in this global effort.
I believe we can create good paying jobs, lead the world in innovation, ensure safer communities and reduce inequalities in this country, abundantly, through tech alone. But we need a government that backs simple public policies that align with and help move forward the industry that will be at the forefront of reaching higher heights possible. We need to reduce regulatory barriers that stand in the way of innovation and growth.
Tonight I am proposing before you and the American people a plan to do just that. If, with your support and help, am so fortunate to be elected president, I will appoint a Chief Innovation Advisor with the power and responsibility to spearhead reforms that create a pathway for the quicker approval of innovations to catalyze technological development. We are going to put pressure on states and cities to identify, review, and reform legal and regulatory obligations that protect legacy incumbents against new innovator. During my first day in office, I will write an executive order directing all agencies to identify specific actions they can take in their areas of jurisdiction to detect anticompetitive practices, as well.
But I’m not stopping there. We are going to improve our patent system and our copyright systems. I will introduce legislation within my first comprehensive budget that shows a committed priority to curb forum shopping and ensure that patent litigants have a nexus to the venue in which they are suing. We’re going to require that specific allegations be made in demand letters and pleadings and we are going to increase transparency in ownership by making patent litigants disclose the real party in interest.
I also know that to encourage creativity and incentivize innovators to invest knowledge, time, and money into the generation of myriad forms of content, we need strong copyright reforms that maximizes on its benefits. As president I will spearhead a comprehensive copyright reform effort that unlocks and facilitates access to orphan works that languished unutilized, benefiting neither their creators nor the public. My reforms will promote open-licensing arrangements for copyrighted material and data supported by federal grant funding, including in education, science, and other fields. Together, we’ll develop technological infrastructure to support digitization, search, and repositories of such content, to facilitate its discoverability and use; and encouraging stakeholders to work together on creative solutions that remove barriers to the seamless and efficient licensing of content in the U.S. and abroad.
These are the kinds of reforms I will support as president to get the government out of your way but also get the government on your side as a partner in efforts to expand the impact of technological innovation across all of the country. I want us to be a partner in making technology be the central centerpiece in a force for broad-based growth, reducing social and economic inequality, and securing American leadership on the global stage. This is certainly not the last you’ve heard of my efforts, so stay tuned and stay engaged - and, above all, support this campaign. We need this campaign to be empowered to win. And we are going to win. This race is far from only - with just a small, four point delegate margin, between Senator Arroyo and myself. With your help, we can win this nomination and the presidency and do great work together. Thank you all so much and God bless!”

Williams 2020 | FROM THE VISION
Catherine Williams Unveils Tech Agenda
Catherine Williams believes that to restore opportunity in America, we must continue to innovate. She is proposing an ambitious commitment to national commitment to technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship.
"It is time for us to harness the power of technology and innovation so that it works for all Americans, creating good-paying jobs throughout the country," Senator Williams proclaimed.
THE OBJECTIVES
- Boost economic growth
- Improve health outcomes
- Safer communities
- Smarter transportation networks
- Better education
- Reduce social and economic inequality
- Secure America on the world stage
THE PLAN
- Leverage technology to create good-paying jobs on Main Street
- Deliver high-speed broadband to all Americans, public spaces - enabling WiFi in airports and stations.
- Promoting high-tech exports and ensuring the free flow of data
- Support innovation, safeguard privacy and security.
- Make our government smarter, more efficient, and more responsive.
THE DETAILS
Opportunity Through Tech: Creating Good-paying Jobs
- Invest in Computer Science and STEM Education: Catherine will prepare a new generation of scientists, engineers, coders, and mathematicians embodying the diverse tech workforce of tomorrow by doubling "Investing in Innovation (“i3”)" grants that will help scale instruction and lesson programs that are demonstrated to improve student achievement or increase college enrollment and completion in computer science fields. Catherine will launch the "Teachers of Tomorrow" program that will expand the pool of computer science teachers through federal financial aid, assistance to professional development programs, and support for public-private partnerships that will recruit new teachers and help current teachers gain additional training. She will also support states, cities, and charters in developing innovative schools that engage underrepresented populations in science and technology through grants that redesign high schools to focus more on STEM education and build partnerships with local universities and the private sector to improve STEM education
- Prepare Technologically Literate Workforce: Catherine Williams believes that we need a pipeline of more agile, adaptable, and technologically literate workers than ever before. She will do this by dedicating $10 billion through the "Workers of Tomorrow" program that enables students to participate in promising new tech programs like nano degrees, accelerated learning programs for computer coding, career and technical training, certificates for “specializations,” and online learning.
- Rebooting Job Training and Diversifying the Tech Workforce: Catherine will lead a competitive grant program to support state and regional public-private partnerships that develop methods to tailor job training opportunities to match labor demands in technology-driven industries. Catherine also believes we need to break down the barriers to full and equal participation by all groups in the 21st century economy, especially in technology. Which is why she is proposing a $25 billion fund to support colleges that serve minority students, such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) as well as a $20 billion commitment in youth jobs and pathways for individuals from disadvantaged communities.
- Increasing Access to Capital for Tech Small Business Growth: Technological innovation and job creation is often driven by smaller companies and start-ups, however, too few Americans are benefiting from the opportunity to access capital and put their job-creating ideas to the test. That’s why Catherine is proposing to extend and make permanent the the New Markets Tax Credit, double our investment in the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund, double the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI), and build more public-private partnerships to invest in local innovation - all of which will support entrepreneurs in all types of communities and build innovation hubs across the country that will supplant strong local economies and create ‘Silicon Valleys’ across the land. Catherine will also break down barriers and level the playing field for entrepreneurs and innovators who are launching their own startups by allowing entrepreneurs to put their federal student loans into a special status while they get their new ventures off the ground - including for founders and the first 20 employees and offer up to $17,000 in student debt forgiveness for those young innovators who decide to launch either new businesses that operate in distressed communities.
- Fix Immigration System to Attract Talent: As a part of a broader, comprehensive reform, Catherine will enable international students who complete degrees in STEM masters and PhDs from accredited institutions to move to green card status and propose “startup visas” that allow top entrepreneurs from abroad to come to the United States, build companies in technology-oriented globally traded sectors, and create more jobs and opportunities for American workers - based on commitments of financial support from U.S. investors, reaching a benchmark for job creation and performance.
Building the Best Digital Infrastructure in the Nation
- “Broadband for All”: Catherine will close the digital divide - finishing the work of connecting all Americans to the internet, within four years - by continuing investments in the Connect America Fund, Rural Utilities Service program, and Broadband Technology Opportunities Program and by directing federal agencies to consider the full range of technologies like fiber, fixed wireless, and satellite while focusing on areas that lack any fixed broadband networks currently. She will also create the “Digital America” competitive grant program through a national infrastructure bank that would award grants to cities, regions, and states that foster greater access to high-speed internet for their residents at affordable prices through plans based on their impact assessment.
The program would also reduce regulatory burdens for private broadband services by streamlining permitting processes, allowing nondiscriminatory access to existing infrastructure such as conduits and poles, pursuing “climb once” policies to eliminate delays, or facilitating demand aggregation. It will also open doors for public-private partnerships that upgrade networks and fills gaps in underserved communities.
- Comprehensive Public Internet: Catherine will ensure that every school, library, and transit system affords people the the ability to get online through free WiFi through new federal resources that enable recreation centers, public buildings like one-stop career centers, and transportation infrastructure such as train stations, airports, and mass transit systems, to access to high-speed internet and provide free WiFi to the public.
- Deploy 5G and Next-Gen Wireless Systems: Catherine Williams will foster the evolution to 5G, small cell solutions, and other next-generation systems that can deliver faster wireless connections by enhancing the efficient use of spectrum by accelerating the process of identifying underutilized bands, including ones now used by the federal government, that can become more valuable under revised regulatory regimes and dedicating federal research funding to test-bedding, field trials, and other public-private endeavors to speed the deployment of next-generation wireless networks through investments that aims to use advanced wireless and data innovation to drive social priorities in a range of areas, such as public safety, health care, environmental management, traffic congestion, and social welfare services.
Leading the World in Tech Innovation
- Promote “Open Internet”: Fight for Internet Freedom and insisting on the responsibility of all nations to respect free speech and human rights online, as well as the open flow of data across borders and access to digital markets.
- Create Global “Multistakeholder” Internet Governance: To put engineers, companies, civil society groups, and internet users at the forefront of internet governance, Catherine will champion the “multistakeholder approach” to fight back against efforts by national governments to control the internet through government-led multilateral organizations by promoting Department of Commerce’s plans to formally transition its oversight role in the management of the Domain Name System to the global community of stakeholders.
- Promote Tech Exports: Catherine believes we should continue the fight for American exports abroad to support jobs and innovation here at home by advancing Export Control Reform, pursuing policies to protect U.S. trade secrets and IP, and resisting calls for forced tech transfer or localization of data; as well as stop China’s cyber-enabled economic espionage and ensure that China adheres to its international commitments.
- Protect America through Strong Cyber-Security: Catherine will support efforts to strengthen cybersecurity, both for government networks and for the private sector, by expanding investment in cybersecurity technologies, as well as public-private collaboration on cybersecurity innovation, responsible information sharing on cyber threats, and accelerated adoption of best practices such as the National Institute of Standards and Technology Cybersecurity Framework.
- Promote “Free Flow of Info” Abroad: Catherine supports efforts such as the U.S.-EU Privacy Shield to find alignment in national data privacy laws and protect data movement across borders, going up against countries that have closed off their digital borders and insisted on “data localization” to attempt to maintain control or unfairly advantage their own companies.
A Supportive, Innovative Government Through Regulatory Reform
- Reducing Regulatory Barriers: For broad-based innovation and economic growth to take place, the government must reduce regulatory barriers to entry, promote competition, and ensure IP laws allow for experimentation. Catherine will do this by appointing a Chief Innovation Advisor in the Office of Management and Budget’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, who will be responsible for spearheading reforms across the government that create a pathway for the quicker approval of innovations to catalyze technological development; challenging state and local governments to identify, review, and reform legal and regulatory obligations that protect legacy incumbents against new innovator; and directing all agencies to identify specific actions they can take in their areas of jurisdiction to detect anticompetitive practices - as well as referring practices that appear to violate federal antitrust law to the DOJ and FTC.
- Improve our Patent System: Ensure the patent system continues to reward innovators by enacting reforms that reduce excessive patent litigation - through laws that curb forum shopping and ensure that patent litigants have a nexus to the venue in which they are suing; require that specific allegations be made in demand letters and pleadings; and increase transparency in ownership by making patent litigants disclose the real party in interest. Catherine will also support legislation to allow the PTO to retain the fees it collects from patent applicants in a separate fund—ending the practice of fee diversion by Congress, and enabling the PTO to invest funds left over from its annual operations in new technologies, personnel, and training.
- Reform Copyright: To encourage creativity and incentivize innovators to invest knowledge, time, and money into the generation of myriad forms of content, Catherine will maximize the copyright system’s benefits in the digital age by unlocking and facilitating access to orphan works that languished unutilized, benefiting neither their creators nor the public; promoting open-licensing arrangements for copyrighted material and data supported by federal grant funding, including in education, science, and other fields; developing technological infrastructure to support digitization, search, and repositories of such content, to facilitate its discoverability and use; and encouraging stakeholders to work together on creative solutions that remove barriers to the seamless and efficient licensing of content in the U.S. and abroad.
Catherine Williams is the only presidential candidate in either party with a comprehensive public policy plan to ensure that technology is a force for broad-based growth, reducing social and economic inequality, and securing American leadership on the global stage.
Catherine Williams has served as a United States Senator since 1992 - one of the first women ever to be elected to that post from California. Before that, she was the first female nominee of a major party for Governor of California. Catherine has dedicated her life to public service - serving the people of her district in the state legislature and her town as a councilwoman. After graduating from law school, she didn't get a six-figure salary at a major law firm. Instead, she went back home and worked in her community's mayoral office. Catherine has always cared about her community, her state, and her country.
You can read your full bio HERE .

After the first primary round of results in Iowa and New Hampshire, Catherine Williams rallied supporters in a primary night speech aired on national television in San Francisco, California.
Williams walks on-stage to “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”.
Senator and Democratic presidential candidate Catherine Williams (D-CA)
“Oh, thank you! Thank you, so much! First of all, I want to congratulate Senator Arroyo for pouring the entire heart and soul of his campaign into Iowa and New Hampshire and coming out with impressive, narrow victories.
But, let me say to you today with sure certainty and confidence that this race is FAR from over! With the great grassroots campaign we’ve amassed, we have managed to keep this race within only four delegates. We have worked very hard to expand our resources across the map and now, folks, this campaign goes national!
From South Carolina to Nevada, and beyond, we are going to be sending a message of restoration and reason. We are going to be sending a message of hope through opportunity for all of the benevolent people of this great country. We are going to be sending a message that together we can break down the barriers that stand in the way of every man and woman in American living up to their God-given potential!
Folks, I am not in this for any personal satisfaction or glory. I am in this for you! I am in this for our children! Our families! Our women and girls! All of the people who’ve been knocked down but refuse to be knocked out! I am in this out of a sense of duty for the people of this country and the God that I love! I have the experience, conviction, humility, and duty to fight for the American people day in and day out and restore the American dream for ourselves and our future generations.
I’m am fighting with and for anyone who believes that we should put opportunity at the gates of every little boy and girl and man and woman in America! I’m fighting for and alongside those who believe we need to fix our broken economy and put us on a path to succeed in this new economy! I am fighting with and alongside those who believe we need a sensible leader with the experience it takes to turn around the misfortunes and misdeeds of the Trump presidency!
I am fighting for all too many of the people in this country that are going up against a system tilted against them. In the words of the great Martin Luther King: ‘I have a dream that every valley shall be exalted and every hill and mountain be made low’. We shall be governed by the notion that our country cannot reach its potential, unless we all do! We shall break down every barrier that holds us back from progress in our lives - and in the process build a stronger country.
As we continue to build this campaign, we ask tonight for all Americans to unite behind a vision. A vision to restore America - its beacon of hope, light of liberty, and respect for our exceptionalism around the world! If you elect me as your president, we will restore America and reach that vision, together! God Bless you all - thank you!"
"All The Above" plays through the loudspeakers as Williams waves to the crowd, departs from the stage and shakes hands with attendees.

Williams 2020 Campaign Event: (15/40)
Surrogate Appearance from Elis Torkin (D-CT) in Dubuque, Iowa and Manchester, New Hampshire
"Good evening, my fellow Americans!
Today is not only a big day for New Hampshire, but for the whole country. Today you are the first indication of what each party exemplifies in a Presidential candidate. And while I will make no comment on the choice our Republican friends should choose, I know that Catherine Williams represents the values of the Democratic Party, New Hampshire and the foundation of America. She knows when to speak up. She has constantly defended what she knows is right no matter if it takes away political brownie points. And she always holds true to it. Senator Arroyo, on the other hand, claims to be anti-corporate but then immediately sells out to corporate values with Amazon because then they back him up. Not to mention that he has his cheerleader, Senator Rivera, who attacks all of Arroyo's opponents by insulting their character instead of disproving their arguments in a calm and respectful manner, and Arroyo never distances himself nor condemns this behavior! He is proud to take the endorsement of a man who called him a "race traitor!" AND I DON'T SUPPORT MR. ARROYO, BUT HOW DARE HE?! His colleague, of the same party! Arroyo will take anyone's endorsement, and twist his policies to fit their goals! And who wouldn't do that? CATHERINE WILLIAMS! Arroyo claims to be bipartisan, but he can't help himself but insult members of his own party on Twitter! But if we concede anything to Mr. Arroyo, at least he was brave enough to show his true colors in front of the American people on the debate stage. But do we need a liberal version of Donald Trump?! NO! We need someone who moves us not left or right, but foward! We need someone who can stay strong to their values but compromise! We need someone who loves America unconditionally, not someone who loves America until it no longer benefits them! And who is that person?! (Crowd starts chanting "WILLIAMS!") From your lips to God's ears!
Thank you Manchester, and make the right choice!"

Williams 2020 Campaign Event: (11/40)
United States Senators Eugene Chillings of North Carolina and Owen Decker of Alabama joined forces with Democratic presidential candidate Catherine Williams on the campaign trail in Iowa and New Hampshire.
Location: Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Manchester, New Hampshire
Senator Eugene Chillings (D-NC)
"Good afternoon (city)!
It is truly an honor being here to speak with y'all today. My name is Eugene Chillings, but I'm not here to talk about myself today.
Every day, I am proud to wake up and work for the people of America. I am a proud American because of what we can do. We've faced hard times, suffered national traumas. Every time, we've emerged victorious and strong. But there is no time for us to rest upon our laurels because there is still much to be done. As President Kennedy once said, "All this will not be finished in the first 100 days...nor in the life of this administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin." I like to think that President Kennedy would be proud of how far we've come since he was inaugurated. But I fear that he would also see much that must be fixed.
Our economy still continues to benefit those who have already gotten rich from it and crush the hopes and dreams of those who make the smallest mistake. Our society should be measured by how the middle does, how the poor are taken care of - not how a handful of people at the very top are doing. It's unacceptable when our society is divided between those who live superfluous lives and families who are struggling to pay rent and survive. No one can say that our system is not rigged when the top 1% own as much as the bottom 40.
The wealthy who have offended the dignity and norms that society expects of them are permitted to escape the justice through ill-designed loopholes. Meanwhile, those who are poor are caught in a vicious system that flays them of their dignity and livelihoods. When the law's applied differently for one man than for another, that's hardly justice.
These things and more are what we must come to terms with in our journey to build a better country. For that reason, I am honored to endorse Senator Catherine Williams in her run for president. Senator Williams has long been a voice for leadership within the halls of Congress, fighting for working families against efforts to deprive them of their livelihoods. And she will continue to fight on behalf of all Americans, regardless of who they are.
Thank you very much and God bless all of you!"
Senator Owen Decker (D-AL)
"Thank you all! My name is Owen Decker and I'm here for the one and only Catherine Williams! I support her because she supports all of us. She will fight for working class people because she understands what it means for people who don't come from much but who have dreams and hopes of being a part of America. She's a God-fearing woman who came from a working-class family and a father that owned a small business.
She has the experience, the values, the fight, and the know-how to work with others to get things done for the American people - for working people, young people, families and the retired. She will work with industry and business to create new jobs for working people who have been disillusioned in this new economy. She will break down barriers that stand in the way of success for all people - including women, through paid family leave, affordable child care, more jobs, and better healthcare. And she will fight for people who've worked their entire lives and deserve a chance to live the best life in their golden years. She will fight against Republican attempts to curtail Social Security or attack Medicare.
It is time - it is time for us to realize what is possible in America. We already know that all that we are going through is not the essence of our potential. We need restoration! We need a restoration of government getting smaller and more efficient, working for the people. That's what Catherine Williams will fight for - a government that works for the people, an economy that uplifts all people, and values that define America!
The bottom line is: Catherine Williams is committed to working for you, as she has served people her entire life. She's fighting for you, she's fighting for us, she will fight every day in the Oval Office to ensure that more and more Americans have the chance to succeed.
God bless you all and please join me in welcoming the next president of the United States - Catherine Williams!"
Senator and Democratic presidential candidate Catherine Williams (D-CA)
"Thank you, Cedar Rapids! Oh, God bless all of you. I'm Catherine Williams and I'm running for president! I'm running for all of you here and for the rest of America - so that together, we may restore America!
We need to restore the values of this great nation. You know, I really want to reach out to the good-hearted people of this country - who've worked hard for so many years in this country and really love the United States of America! I don't believe Democrats have done that well enough. We haven't done enough to reach the tolerant, benevolent people of this great country! The working people of this great country! Working people right now are struggling with an economy that does not work for you - really, a system that does not work for you. Well, my friends, we are going to restore an America that works for you!
We're going to begin first through leadership. You know, they criticize me for engaging with industry and finance. But here's my vision: a leader that works with all people to build alliances for opportunities to be created for all people. The financial industry, they are meant to work for us. And if we got rid of industry - we'd get rid of financial opportunities for middle-class people to buy a home, a car, or use it as a ladder to climb. We need a leader willing to forge a bond that enables Wall Street to work for Main Street once again! We need a leader willing to work across the aisle to restore a government that works for all people, again! One of the critiques of my main opponent is his and his supporters' willingness to engage in divisive attacks - something that gets nothing done in Washington. To restore a government that works for people requires listening and compromise, not bombast and partisanship. It requires understanding people's cultures - the culture of working people: who are faithful, who are caring, who are hard working! That's how we begin to build back the trust of working people in this country - and I am more committed to that than ever!
My vision of America is an America where we build real hope and change in people's lives through an abundance of opportunity for all people in this country! I believe strongly that this ought to begin at birth and continue onward throughout people's lives. I know the struggles it takes to get ahead in this new economy. What I believe we ought to do is prepare invest in youth apprenticeship programs that bring together industry, high schools, and postsecondary institutions to connect young Americans to developing valuable skills to add productive value while on the job in industries such as advanced manufacturing, business services, information technology, and healthcare. What I want to do is establish a compact between America and every child born in this country through a universal child savings account that saves one-hundred dollars a month for every child in America until they are 18 years of age. It'll be a $21,600 'Opportunity Fund' for young people to use in a jumpstart to their lives. Whether it be investing in college, getting a head start on a career, starting a business, or creating a family, giving our young people the chance to succeed will restore a greater America - for generations to come!
But I know that middle-aged people are struggling in this economy. Maybe you didn't go to college and you're struggling to build a family despite the fact that you are working hard. Well, we need to restore real hope and change for you, too! First, we're going to increase wages for people in this country by raising the minimum wage in a way that doesn't cut into job growth or raises costs; expand overtime pay; promote profit sharing, and support collective bargaining through strong unions. Then, we're going to create jobs in this great country by first creating a million new training positions by financing Apprenticeship Hubs that will proactively engage local employers and unions across a range of industries, identify workforce needs, and support employers as they design and implement new apprenticeship programs that will employ hard-working people. We're also going to partner up with the financial industry and secure the kinds of dollars that have only been afforded to the big companies that go only to the urban coasts and secure those dollars for the left out and left behind small towns and communities that need the same kind of opportunities to rebuild this country from the ground up. I will do this by bolstering small business - because we know the good paying jobs are mostly going to come from small businesses - by creating a public fund that backs small and medium business loans and investments, creating more jobs in places left-out and left-behind through a quadrupling of business loans guaranteed by the federal government and run a $5 billion campaign to promote, capitalize, and support new funds that makes equity investments in businesses located in underinvested markets.
We'll make the necessary investments in infrastructure, research, and education to put people to work today and grow our economy for tomorrow. We will do this by investing in infrastructure through a national infrastructure bank that would leverage public and private funds to invest in projects across the country and drive further investments in clean energy, and scientific and medical research to create jobs and strengthen our economy through tax reform that closes corporate tax loopholes. And we're going to finally provide the kind of tax relief America's small businesses and middle class families need!
We will build an economy where everyone who wants a job can get one; where no one working full time has to raise their children living in poverty. We will reform our healthcare system to ensure that everyone - every man, woman, and child - has the right to quality and affordable health care. We will lower prescription drug prices by outlawing ‘pay for delay’ agreements to delay low cost, generic prescriptions; letting Medicare negotiate lower prices; and ensure that publicly-funded research that leads to life-saving drugs is available to all at an affordable price.
Furthermore, we're going to tackle the barriers that hold us back. I know women have a particularly hard go at it in America. I know that when women succeed, America succeeds! I am a woman who has had to face barriers thrusting myself into the duties of service beyond that of my family. Yet, I have persevered with conviction - a conviction to lend myself to the affairs of the nation, of the people. I am fighting for women and families, so that we may break down the barriers that stand in the way of progress. We're going to combat the pay gap between men and women and do more about our commitment to children and families. I have the best plan in this race as it pertains to quality, affordable childcare! I will fight for paid family leave and reproductive rights and better healthcare! Above all, we are going to uplift women and girls in this country. I can't think of a better way to do that by first breaking that highest, hardest glass ceiling!
We will commit ourselves to Americans who’ve invested their hard work into our country and its economy their entire lives. We will ensure the elderly can live comfortably through retirement security plans, bolstering Social Security and Medicare.
The great trend of our nation is to experience and endure hardship and struggle, with occasional triumph, but with a continuous ideal of mobility and equality - though knowing we will never be a perfect nation. But we must continue with that idea of progress because we know our suffering - whether it be poverty, unfair disadvantages, and inequality - is an agent of growth. Let the next four, eight years, with an administration that uplifts the great vision of improvement, take hold in America! Abraham Lincoln said, ‘Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith, let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it’. So I call upon you, your friends, neighbors, and family to gather in the movement of duty. Let us restore America - once and for all! You and everyone’s lives - and the United States of America - depend on it!
Thank you all and God bless you!

For Immediate Release | Quarter 1, 2019
Office of United States Senator Catherine Williams
﻿Press Secretary Elizabeth Grant
Catherine Williams Endorses Concealed Carry
"In a safe America, people need the ability to protect themselves."
WASHINGTON - While in a legislative meeting on Capitol Hill, United States Senator Catherine Williams (D) came out in support of a bill authored by a Democratic colleague that would mandate that all states recognize Americans who have concealed carry permits and allow them to carry their permitted personal protection firearms across state lines.
She urged Congressional leaders to bring the Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2019 up for debate, in the following statement:
"I urge the Senate Majority Leader to bring the bill up for debate and I vow to support it if it reaches the floor. I recognize the need for safety in our communities and protecting the Second Amendment rights of people to defend themselves. In furtherance of that, and with an abundance of understanding that in a safe America, people need the ability to protect themselves, I believe this bill will expand the gun rights of all people.
I know the Democratic party is often time viewed as anti-gun. We need to change that. It is reasonable for us to support law-abiding gun owners in keeping their protection with them wherever they go. That's why I call on Speaker Trent Hayes to also consider this bill in the House."
Catherine Williams has served in the United States Senate since 1992 and was one of California's first female Senators. She is running for the Democratic nomination for president.

Press Release | Williams 2020
At Hometown Rally, Catherine Williams Launches Presidential Campaign's Second Phase
Outlining the vision for her candidacy as early state primaries loom
Catherine Williams, United States Senator from California, ended her presidential campaign's "Ramp Up" vowing to restore "the dream of a benevolent people," as she continues a seek the Democratic nomination for president 2020. Watch the full launch speech HERE . The Williams 2020 Launch Organization was identified as the rollout phase of the campaign, seeking to build a grassroots campaign with support in the early states that will propel momentum heading into the primary and caucus elections.
The campaign's efforts were a success. Raising nearly $4.5 million and receiving significant support from her Democratic colleagues, Catherine Williams has amassed major campaign organizations in each state, fueled by grassroots activism. Williams is now considered a frontrunner in the Democratic nomination. She's leading in two of the first three primary states of Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina.
As Catherine Williams continues her fight for the nomination, she will work aggressively to put her campaign to the test: trying to win over as many Democrats as possible to believe in her vision.
"The great challenge of our time is to restore the hope that is the dream of every man: to grow up in a caring community, to be afforded the opportunity to climb - through education, work, and drive, and to be seen as an equal in the halls of justice. This is the American dream - the dream of a benevolent people. We are the kind and big-hearted, the just and the real. Our ancestors toil from every land and we all descend in a melting pot of diversity and inclusion. We struggle but we live and we are skeptical but we are decent. We are the benevolent people, and though we’ve been forgotten for so long, our time is now!" - Catherine Williams, 2020 Campaign Launch Rally
Support from Democrats
Received the endorsements of North Carolina Senator and a deputy Democratic leader, Chet Winger (D); Alabama Senator Owen Decker (D); former presidential candidate, Senator Elis Torkin from Connecticut; and United States Senator Alan Roberts (D) from Illinois.
The Great Debate: Opening Statement
"Hello, I’m Catherine Williams. Growing up, I lived in a middle-class community raised by working-class parents in a God-fearing home. Despite my normal upbringing, I saw the violence and tumult in our country as the American dream seemed far removed for so many in our society. Like many women in my generation - many who have paved the way for what women can do and have done today - I was not bound by the traditional parameters of a woman’s perceived duty. I defined my own - and decided my duty was in service to my people. The people of my community, my state, and my country! And the American people have trusted me time and again. I stand before you today as the most experienced candidate in this race. I served my community as a councilwoman, in the state legislature as an Assemblywoman, and eventually, the people of the largest state in the union trusted me four times over the last twenty-seven years to represent them in the United States Senate. When you’re hiring someone for the job - especially in these perilous times - do you hire someone with very little experience, less than a decade of experience - and particularly only two in the Senate, or someone with thirty-years experience, fighting in the trenches. I call that as clear as the sky is blue. What is also clear are the challenges we face in this country. After four years of an inept, bigoted president in Donald Trump, we need someone with not only the experience but the vision to fix the damage that has been done. We need someone with the experience and vision to beat back the Republican attacks on women, children, and the LGBTQ community. We need someone with the experience and vision to break the cycle of oppression that continues to hold Black men and women back in this country. We need someone with the experience and vision to expand access to quality and affordable health care to more American families, better education for our kids and an economy that works for all. We need someone with the experience and vision to fight back against the inequalities in our tax code that favors the wealthy or the higher education system that straddles more and more students with debt. We need someone with the experience and the vision to beat back economic inequities as a result of outsourcing and China’s emerging influence in the world. We need someone with the experience and vision to break through the gridlock and finally address the very real threat that climate change poses to our country and to the world! Over the course of this debate and this campaign, I will outline plans behind my vision to restore America - we need to restore opportunity, equality, and decency. Ultimately, we need someone who has the experience to unite this country - renew security from violence and division. If you trust me with that awesome responsibility, I will be ready on day one! Thank you all."

Williams 2020 Campaign Event: (3/40)
Catherine Williams Presidential Campaign
Launch Rally
Presidio Park, San Diego, California
At 10:30am, supporters began filing into Presidio Park in San Diego, California for the Launch Rally of the Catherine Williams 2020 presidential campaign - her first major address after the “rollout” phase of the campaign.
Rally-goers were given flags and campaign signs. They listened to the “Williams 2020 Campaign Playlist.”
At 12:00am, "Love Train" by the O'Jays starts playing through loudspeakers - an announcement was made…
Announcer: Please welcome, Catherine Williams!
Catherine Williams struts on stage, shaking the hands of attendees and supporters. She reaches the stages, claps to the music and waves to the crowd.
She eventually takes to the podium as the music slowly quiets...
Democratic presidential candidate Catherine Williams (D-CA)
“Thank you! Hello, San Diego! Oh, it’s great to be back home! Thank you all!
I’m glad to be here in my hometown - with family and friends. It’s great to be here among all of you, in a state that has given me the honor of serving you in the United States Senate for nearly thirty years!
When I decided to run for president, I thought about how California - as my home - has given me the ability to cultivate conviction, humility, and duty. My place in this country’s history is one of a unique American story of determination and willful duty. I am a woman who has had to face barriers thrusting myself into the duties of service beyond that of my family. Yet, I have persevered with conviction - a conviction to lend myself to the affairs of the nation, of the people. I was drawn to public service from a fierce urgency to be a part of moving this country forward from really dark times. By the time I was 18, our country was turning upside down: the man of peace and human rights was shot dead, creating a lot of hopelessness among those he had been fighting for and the man I volunteered for, Bobby Kennedy, was also shot dead - a man that inspired me for his continued reaching out and reaching up. Instead of this turmoil creating fear and driving us away, I was a part of a generation of people who saw turmoil and was driven to turn our country around and change the world - and maybe, just maybe, along the way, we'll change how women are viewed in leadership. It is precisely that drive that leads to Madeline Albright being the first female Secretary of State; Hillary Clinton becoming the first first lady to be elected as a Senator, become a Secretary of State and eventually become the first ever female to be nominated for President of the United States. It is that drive that has seen many millions of women around our country and around the world break everyday barriers that stand in there way. It is precisely that drive that has made me the first female gubernatorial nominee of this state. It is that drive that has afforded me the opportunity to fight for the people of the largest state in our union for thirty years as one of the first female Senators - alongside Barbara Boxer - of California and it is precisely that drive that permits me to stand before you today as a candidate for President of the United States of America!
I am driven not by any personal satisfaction or glory. I am drawn instead from a lifetime of service to something higher and greater. I am no more mortal than you. I am merely an instrument of the people I serve and the God I love! And from this comes a sense of trust - a trust that our leaders must make decisions and judgements based in accordance with law, custom, prudence, and compassion - that every decision may not be right, but that the interests of the people, of the nation, remain the highest priority. I have been entrusted with this awesome responsibility as a councilwoman, an assemblywoman, and a United States Senator for nearly thirty years. With experience, conviction, humility, and duty, I stand before you ready to hold dear that mantle of trust for the nation, as president!
The great challenge of our time is to restore the hope that is the dream of every man: to grow up in a caring community, to be afforded the opportunity to climb - through education, work, and drive, and to be seen as an equal in the halls of justice. This is the American dream - the dream of a benevolent people. We are the kind and big-hearted, the just and the real. Our ancestors toil from every land and we all descend in a melting pot of diversity and inclusion. We struggle but we live and we are skeptical but we are decent. We are the benevolent people, and though we’ve been forgotten for so long, our time is now!
We shall educate every descendant of this great land: from birth till adulthood. We’ll renew our commitment to early childhood education and extend its benefits to every child in this country - through universal pre-kindergarten and child care services that invest in our children’s minds and hearts.
We shall be not bound by the ails of traditional education. We need better science, better technology, better engineering and better math education. We need to teach trades and codes, but also teach budgeting and investment. Every young man and woman ought to know what it means to manage money, to build credit, and to take part in the opportunities of investment that we have in our society. Let’s give young people the chance to build up and build out our communities - renewing the American dream for all and shaping our nation for the better!
We shall declare once and for all that our people are entitled to opportunity. We shall put opportunity at the gates of every young boy and girl in America. We shall call it an opportunity fund that pays a lump sum to anyone who completes a high school education or GED equivalent. This will ground our commitment to every young adult at the age of 18, affording them to the opportunity to begin building a life on their own and getting a post-secondary education or getting a head start on a working class career, starting a business, investing, or homeownership.
There’s a three-pronged struggle in this new economy: the struggle of businesses bemoaning the shortage of skilled workers; the struggle of parents and families lamenting the high cost of college and higher education; and the struggle of high schools preparing students for the World, for college and careers. Now is the time for us to invest in youth apprenticeships that connect graduating high schoolers to on-the-job and classroom learning - giving them the opportunity to gain valuable work experience and access to professional mentors and networks, and earn postsecondary credit and credentials.
We will build an economy where everyone who wants a job can get one; where no one working full time has to raise their children living in poverty. We will reform our healthcare system to ensure that everyone - every man, woman, and child - has the right to quality and affordable health care. We will lower prescription drug prices by outlawing ‘pay for delay’ agreements to delay low cost, generic prescriptions; letting Medicare negotiate lower prices; and ensure that publicly-funded research that leads to life saving drugs is available to all at an affordable price. We will build a pathway to citizenship for the millions of immigrants, who have already proven themselves to be Americans, who’ve been living in the shadows yet already contributed so much to our economy.
We will commit ourselves to Americans who’ve invested their hard work into our country and its economy their entire lives. We will ensure the elderly can live comfortably through retirement security plans, bolstering Social Security and Medicare.
We will reform our government so that it works more and more for the greater good and isn’t hijacked more and more by radical ideologues and extreme partisans. We need an independent commission that draws out the district lines fairly and equitably, with more diverse and competitive districts to combat the kinds of gridlock that has prevented progress in Washington. We have to make sure any and every American are able to more easily register and become voters.
There shall be a recognition that there are far too many Americans going up against a system tilted against them. There shall be an ideal of our national community: as an equal people facing little barriers to mobility. The words of the great Martin Luther King rang loud in our national conscience: ‘I have a dream that every valley shall be exalted and every hill and mountain be made low’. We shall be governed by the notion that our country cannot reach its potential, unless we all do! We shall break down every barrier that holds us back from progress in our lives - and in the process build a stronger country. We need equal pay for equal work, put an end to housing discrimination, predatory lending, and renew our commitment to voting rights. We shall promote human rights abroad and ensure all rights are upheld and respected here at home.
As a mother and a grandmother, I can relate to the need to protect our children. It is wrong that in the United States of America, mothers have to worry about whether or no their children will come home from the park, or the store, or from school safely. I believe that we can heal our wounds and make a difference in the lives of those who’ve felt marginalized and forgotten. We will restore balance to our criminal justice system. We will renew the bonds of trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve with more training and accountability. We will promote justice and peace, cracking down on crime and violence.
We will protect our families and children from dirty water, dirty air, an environment that is becoming an existential threat to our nation and our world. These threats shall not bring us down! We shall tackle the challenge of climate change head on, bringing together the private sector with leveraged public grants to ensure we become the next clean energy superpower!
The great trend of our nation is to experience and endure hardship and struggle, with occasional triumph, but with a continuous ideal of mobility and equality - though knowing we will never be a perfect nation. But we must continue with that ideal of progress, because we know our suffering - whether it be poverty, unfair disadvantages, and inequality - is an agent of growth. Let the next four, eight years, with an administration that uplifts the great vision of improvement, take hold in America! Abraham Lincoln said, ‘Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith, let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it’. So I call upon you, your friends, neighbors, and family to gather in the movement of duty. Let us restore America - once and for all! You and everyone’s lives - and the United States of America - depend on it!
Starting with rooting out our own country’s bigoted ills, we must renew our commitment to America being the beacon of light in the world - returning to the humble notion of immigration, reforming our systems to make it easier for more well-intentioned, hard-working people to become citizens and be fully allowed to add to the cultural breath of our nation. Nevertheless, there must be a sustainable balance between opening our doors to hard working immigrant and protecting our borders from those seeking to do us harm.
Authoritarians latch onto and exploit misunderstandings and misconceptions of people who don’t look alike, speak alike, worship alike to generate constant fear and anxiety of these ‘other’ people. It is time - once and for all - for America to be the global leader in defeating this fear! We will combat xenophobia and islamophobia, religious and racial bigotry here at home and abroad.
It is time for America to lead the world against authoritarianism ruled by strongmen who target freedom and democracy and promote inequality and indifference for their own political and economic gain. This will require a shoring up of our defenses - to prepare for an offensive targeting the thugs against freedom and democracy.
There is no other nation in the world that embodies deeply a more formidable threat to democracy and liberal values than China. This nation’s ‘quiet’, ‘flexible’ authoritarianism, digital surveillance and control, and authoritarian capitalism has lead the way in global democratic stagnation. It’s time for democratic nation’s around the world - those that embody the liberal order, the United States and all of our allies - to come to grips with the gravity of the China challenge. We should encourage countries to shift their economic interdependence away from China - who has proven to only use its economic muscle for political purposes - and instead invest in more promising markets in Southeast Asia, India, and Africa. It’s time for us to usher a grand advancement of democracy and liberal values around the globe! We shall answer the challenge, restoring faith in democratic capitalism through political realignments and mobilization for renewal, including major new investments in infrastructure, research and development, education, development assistance, intelligence, alliances, and defense.
We will not continue to demonize Islam as inherently evil or corrupt against our interests. We will, instead, work with all people yearning for peace to combat the evils of radicalism that has continued to terrorize our communities and people around the world.
We shall work closely with other democracies in the World, rallying democratic nations to pursue our common interests. There’s some momentum at our backs: with the consolidation of democracy in parts of Asia and Africa. More people live in democratic societies now more than any point in history. Nevertheless, we live in an era of rapid globalization, internal developments in distant states affect our own well-being, even our security. Now is the time in which we shall return to a traditional multilateralism centered on a new ‘global alliance for democracy’ - a coalition of democratic states beyond the traditional transAtlantic core. We have a duty to partner with nations around the world with common interests to promote democracy and freedom where it has been obstructed, construct where it has been demolished, resurrect where it has been suppressed.
We will recognize the breadth of our democratic structures, ensuring greater cooperation with democracies in the developing world, both in protecting democratic institutions at home and in bolstering cooperation in third-world countries. Together with our democratic allies, we shall wield the hard power of the threat of the use of force and sanctions with the soft power of diplomacy and cooperation to promote freedom, democracy, and prosperity around the globe!
No more can we treat the world of nations as sovereign equals regardless of the character of their governments. Our new alliance for democracy shall respect state sovereignty, conditional on how states behave at home, not just abroad. Our new alliance for democracy shall govern ourselves with the understanding that sovereignty comes with it a duty to protect citizens against mass violence and a duty to prevent internal developments that threaten others - limits freedoms, oppresses, and obstructs democracy. We shall - once and for all - build a new international order establishing the defining lines of any nation as that with which is democracy and liberty for all people.
Our international order shall advance the welfare of women and girls around the world. We shall understand the importance of women and girls in our mission to forge a better and more prosperous world. Women and girls around the globe must have the opportunity to receive an education the vital health care and freedoms to change the world around them for the better.and
It is time for us to unite behind a vision. A vision to restore America - its beacon of hope, light of liberty, and respect for our exceptionalism around the world! God Bless you all - thank you!"